Surviving a heart attack can depend on your neighbors

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A new study from researchers at the University of Michigan suggests that where you live — and whether neighbors willing to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) rush to your aid — can have a significant impact on whether or not you survive a heart attack. The findings, published in the June issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, analyzed incidence of heart attack and prevalence of first-aid use of CPR in neighborhoods throughout Fulton County, Georgia. They found that there not only tended to be more cases of cardiac arrest in lower-income, lower-educated predominately black neighborhoods, but use of CPR was significantly less in these areas as well. Based on the findings, researchers say that as many as 15 lives could be saved in Fulton County alone — which is home to Atlanta — if bystanders or neighbors used CPR more consistently in emergency situations.

Study authors say that the findings point to a need for improved education about emergency response and CPR, and suggest that targeting high-risk neighborhoods may be critical to effective public health outreach. Each year some 300,000 people suffer cardiac arrest outside a hospital, and some 90% of those who have a heart attack die from the trauma — rates that have remained consistent for three decades, the study authors point out. If public health programs could prompt a significant increase in bystander use of CPR — from the current national average of 27% to up to 56% — researchers estimate that as many as 1,500 people’s lives might be saved each year. Previous study has shown that, for every 24 to 36 people who receive CPR in a medical emergency, one life is saved.